Hagel orders broad review of how medals are awarded

Mar. 20, 2014
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The Medal of Honor. / Carolyn Kaster, AP

by Jim Michaels, USA TODAY

by Jim Michaels, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered a comprehensive review of the way the military awards medals and decorations as the country nears the end of more than a decade of warfare.

The awards process has come under scrutiny recently as critics question inconsistencies. The Pentagon drew fire when it proposed a special medal for pilots who fly unmanned aircraft remotely or who engage in cyberwarfare.

The review will determine whether procedures can be streamlined or improved, said Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary.

Kirby said Hagel's own experience as an infantryman in Vietnam helped shape his thinking.

"He talked about seeing his own comrades there in Vietnam doing incredibly brave things and that many of those things will go completely unheeded because they were never written up because of the pace and speed of war," Kirby said. "Many heroic acts never got noticed."

Officials acknowledge that any awards system will necessarily contain an element of personal judgment and subjectivity.

"It's not a science, and I don't think he's trying to make it a science," Kirby said.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, a California Republican, member of the Armed Services Committee and Marine who served in Iraq, has been critical of the process, which he said has been inconsistent and hasn't reflected the breadth of heroic action over the past 12 years.

He points out that there is no living Medal of Honor recipient from the Iraq War.

Hagel was influenced by a recent review that found that a couple of dozen servicemen from World War II, Korea and Vietnam were overlooked for the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for bravery, probably because of their religion or ethnicity.

The 24 medals were awarded after Congress ordered the services to review the records of Jewish and Hispanic veterans of the three wars. Only three of the men were alive to accept the award.

The new Pentagon review will examine how best to recognize servicemembers who engage in new types of warfare, such as those who pilot unmanned aircraft, commonly called drones, or engage in cyberwarfare.

Former Defense secretary Leon Panetta had announced a special medal for drone pilots and cyberwarriors, but Hagel overturned it soon after taking over the job. Critics slammed the award, saying drone pilots don't face physical danger.

Hagel replaced the special medal with a "device" that could be affixed to other decorations.

The Pentagon review will examine such issues as developing criteria for how the devices are awarded, the Pentagon has said, but will not likely reopen the debate about creating a special medal for drone pilots and cyberwarriors.